


Staircase

by TyldenCM



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: F/M, M/M, Mpreg, Teen Pregnancy, daddy!niall
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-06-05
Updated: 2013-09-29
Packaged: 2017-12-14 00:56:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 4,499
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/830838
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TyldenCM/pseuds/TyldenCM
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Niall made a mistake, a mistake he wouldn't change for the world. His band mates on the other hand may have something to say about it. One in particular.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hey guys, so this is my first ever 1D fic, it is on another site so yeah it may look familiar. :)  
> Completely unbetad so any mistakes are my own!

Niall had had a bad day. All he wanted was to curl up on his oversized couch with his superman cup filled with ice cream and sprinkles while mindless television blared in the background. But no, fate apparently hated him.

Harry had followed him back to his flat, looking like a lost and lonely puppy. He and Louis had fought apparently, and Niall had seemed like a suitable comfort item.

So that’s how he found himself curled up on his oversized couch with Harry, who was cradling a bottle of beer and spilling his world’s sorrows. The blonde boy could only sigh and pat his younger band mate on the back as he felt the headache grow behind his eyes.

“Look mate, why don’t you go up to my room and have a shower? It might help you calm down a bit.” Harry sniffed and nodded, wandering towards the hallway as Niall sighed, thankful for the brief moment alone. It wasn’t that he didn’t love Harry, but the drama that he and Louis had daily was getting to be old. The friends-bordering-on-couple were either flirting or fighting and the rest of the boys were on edge.

As the Irish boy finally relaxed back into the cushions of his couch, the shower upstairs started to flow and Niall breathed out a long sigh of relief as he sat in the silence of his overpriced apartment, payed for by their first single. If he listened hard enough he could hear Zayn’s TV blaring from the apartment downstairs and could hear Louis shouting at what he presumed was Liam in the apartment three doors down. It was endlessly comforting to know how close his band mates were if he needed them.

He let his eyes slip shut as he listened to the comforting sounds of their swanky apartment block. Thankfully they had a day off tomorrow, the week had been hell and everyone was worn down to their final nerves.

“Niall!” Harry’s pathetic whine from down the hallway had Niall biting his lip, sighing deeply through his nose. This was going to be a long night.

===================================================

He was not going to kill the person knocking on his door. He was not going to kill the person knocking on his door. He was not-

Okay, he was going to kill the person knocking on his fucking door at…[i]4am?![/i]

Niall huffed, unwrapping Harry’s arm from his waist. The boy had insisted on sleeping in Niall’s bed claiming the need for comfort and Niall hadn’t the heart to tell him to just go back to Louis and make up.

But now his slightly comfortable sleep had been interrupted by the idiot who was currently knocking weakly, all bet persistently at his door. 

The blonde boy stumbled blindly through the pitch black apartment, stubbing his toe and cursing loudly before reaching the cool wood of his front door. Not even bothering to check the peep hole, Niall wrenched open the white wood, glancing around the dimly lit hallway. 

Clamping his lips shut at the curse he was about to scream after whatever idiot had thought it was funny to wake him up and then run away, Niall began to shut his door. A small whimper stopped him though and drew his attention south.

And his eyes nearly rolled out of his head.


	2. Chapter 2

"Harry!" Niall called warily, eyes not leaving his welcome mat's inhabitant. He heard a thump as his bedroom door hit the wall before Harry came rushing to the front door.

"…what the fuck is that?" Harry whispered, clutching Niall's arm as his eyes fell to the mat. The blonde boy scoffed and rolled his eyes.

"Obviously it's a little kid." Harry glared at him, sinking to his knees and cautiously reached out a finger to the tiny little girl. Both boys watched in amazement as she grasped the finger, smiling brightly around her pacifier. 

"What's your name?" Harry asked quietly. The girl only cocked her head to the side. Clearly she couldn't understand. 

"Is it wearing a collar?" Harry gaped at Niall disbelievingly. "What? Wouldn't its parents put a collar on it, in case it got lost?" 

"Niall! She's a little girl. Not a dog." Harry chastised but a small silver chain caught his eye. The words "Athena-Grace" hung from the chain in delicate cursive. 

"Hey look at that! I was right! That counts as a collar." Harry rolled his eyes at the pride in Niall's voice. 

Silence filled the apartment as the two boys stared at the toddler standing on the welcome mat. She stared back, blue eyes wide. "What are we meant to do with it?" 

Harry shrugged. He had no fucking clue. 

Niall huffed as the toddler shivered. Reaching over Harry's knelt form, the blonde boy picked the small girl up, motioning for Harry to pick up the Disney princess back pack that had been left on the ground. 

The girl clutched at her worn pink blanket as Niall brought her into the warmth of his apartment. He flicked on a few lights before depositing the small child on the couch. Harry followed, sitting on the coffee table facing the girl, pulling Niall down with him.

Both were pondering who this child could possibly belong to. Nobody in the building had children. It was filled with socialites and retired rich people. She definitely didn't live here.

"Should we call the police?" Harry wondered aloud. The young girl frowned at him, as if understanding his statement. 

"She doesn't look happy about that." Niall commented quietly. He studied the girl carefully. She looked familiar. Like a smaller version of someone he vaguely knew. Her deep chocolate ringlets were pulled up high on her head into pig tails, secured with red ribbons. Her long eye lashes fluttered as if she was fighting off sleep. The little girl was clutching her blanket tightly and Niall could see someone had painted her tiny nails. 

The girl was Clad in white tights, a tiny dress and a puffy coat. Her feet were covered in pink boots. She was adorable and Niall felt once again that he somehow knew this child. 

His eyes met the toddlers and he frowned. Her eyes were the same colour as his and as he stared at her, she stared back with the same intensity. 

"Should we check her bag?" Harry broke the tense silence of the room and Niall faintly nodded, shaking himself out of his reverie. 

The child moved then, lifting her tiny finger and pointing at Niall, head cocking once again to the side. 

"Da?" she spat the pacifier from her mouth "Dada!" she squealed. The girl grinned widely at him, dropping her hand back to her lap. 

Niall gaped at the toddler. Had she just referred to him as Dada? 

"Oh shit mate" Harry sounded panicked as he held a stiff document in his hand. 

Niall looked over and simply cocked a brow. 

"Did you know some chick called Alexis Beck?" 

"Uh, yeah, I dated her a couple years ago...." Niall's voice trailed off as he swallowed the lump in his throat.

"Congratulations Daddy." Harry whispered, handing Niall the birth certificate. 

"Fuck"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There you go haha  
> ~Tylden :)


	3. Chapter 3

Athena-Grace Gemini Horan-Beck.

That was the name of his daughter. 

He had a _daughter._

"That’s a long fuckin’ name." Harry muttered. The two boys were sat on the couch, watching the small girl sleep on a makeshift bed on the floor made up of pillows and spare blankets Niall had had lying around. "Fuck man you have a kid," 

"I have a kid," Niall repeated quietly "That's my daughter,"Harry winced sympathetically as the Irish boy repeated the same thing for the millionth time since the girl had arrived a couple hours earlier. 

They had deciphered from her birth certificate that she was 11 months old. Born on the first of June 2011 in Brisbane, Australia to Alexis Rachel Beck and Niall James Horan. Alexis had been 16 when she gave birth. 

The bag that had accompanied the toddler had contained a few clothes and diapers, rash cream, wipes, teething toys, three jars of baby food and a small photo album which contained many photos of the baby and a letter, addressed to Niall himself. 

Neither boy had gained the strength to read it.

The sun had started to come up a half hour ago and Harry sighed, watching the light slowly seep into the room.

  "The boys are going to be here soon to do that phone interview. What are we going to tell them?" Niall blinked as if forgetting Harry had been there "Ni?"

"We?" he muttered weakly.

"Well yeah. I'm not just going to throw you to the lions." Harry patted he blonde boy's back weakly and returned his gaze to the now waking baby. 

“What am I going to do?” Niall’s lip trembled slightly “What am I going to tell the lads?”

The blankets on the ground rustled as the little girl crawled from the mound of blankets, bows falling out of her hair, strands hanging messily around her face. She clutched her blanket, sucking her pacifier as she swayed on unpractised legs, staring at the two boys. Niall stared back, the image blurred by his watery eyes.

“What am I going to tell _Liam._ ” Niall begged desperately. Harry opened and closed his mouth helplessly. He didn’t know any more than his blonde companion did.

A door slamming from down the hall had all three jumping and Niall tensed as the girls huge blue eyes filled with tears. Harry held his breath and watched her as the pacifier fell from her mouth and she began and to wail.

Harry scrambled over to the girl's bag pulling out a toy before dangling it in front of the baby, who ignored it. 

Niall sat down in front of the wailing girl carefully, reaching out a hand to rub at her back, unsure of what to do in the situation. The two members of the band who had no younger siblings were at a loss of how to comfort the child.

The toddler continued to bawl, staring at Niall and Harry, silently pleading with them to fix her unnamed problem.

"Strawberry ice cream!" Niall finally proclaimed, tripping over himself to get to the kitchen, digging through the freezer.

"Why?" Harry asked warily, tickling the girl’s stomach trying to silence her

"I don't know! It's pink, girls like pink yeah? It's worth a shot!" 

And Harry couldn't argue.

==========================

When there was a knock on the door ten minutes later, the small girl's hands, face and hair were covered in the sticky pink ice cream Niall and Harry had attempted to feed her. Less had ended up in her stomach than everywhere else but she wasn't crying anymore and the two boys were grateful. 

"Dada." The baby babbled happily as she reached her sticky hands out to Niall. The boys had found many pictures of the band within the small photo album the girl had with her, with Niall circled and notes saying "Dada" around him. They had both figured Alexis had tried to explain to her daughter who Niall was. 

The blonde teen reached out and picked the baby up. 

"I have a fucking daughter." he muttered again as the baby tapped a pink covered hand against his cheek. 

"I'll go get the door and tell the boys we need to tell them something. You go clean her a little ok?" Harry suggested as there was another impatient knock. 

"It's all sticky." Niall murmured in what seemed like an agreement.

"You should start calling her by her name mate." Harry advised as the baby stared up at her father. Niall nodded, looking down into the child's eyes.

"Athena-Grace" Niall swallowed down the lump in his throat as Harry went to answer the door. “My daughter.”

His only answer was a beaming smile from the baby girl.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thankyou the kudos and to whoever is reading. I really appreciate your time :)  
> I'm also looking for a beta if anyone is interested =)  
> Thankyou again for reading!
> 
> Tylden x


	4. Chapter 4

“Harry? Is Niall okay?” Liam asked, panic edging into his voice. Four of the five boys had been sat in Niall’s living room for almost 20 minutes, the blonde boy still had made no appearance and after Harry had stuttered out that they all needed to talk, no more had been said.

“Liam, I…Shit, th-there’s been-”

“Dada!” The screech from down the hall had Harry going rigid and the rest of the boys eyes widening almost comically.

“Athena! Stay still!” Niall’s desperate plea was unmistakable and had Harry rising and very nearly running down the hall way, the one thing stopping him being a firm hand wrapped around his wrist, he knew, without even looking that it was Louis. “Harry!”

Harry paled significantly at the helpless cry, followed by the wailing of a young child.

“Harold?” Louis’ voice was firm and demanding “Why is there a baby here?”

There was no time to answer as a diaper clad Athena-Grace emerged from the hallway, almost victoriously, running straight to Harry. The curly haired boy caught her just before she could trip. Niall emerged soon after, ice cream and baby powder covering his face, shirt and hair.

“I think we need to have a talk don’t you?” Louis questioned, eyebrow raised at the chaotic scene.

The small child wrapped in Harry’s arms let out a helpful ‘Dada,’ grinning happily at Niall who still stood, frozen at the mouth of the hallway.

“What the fuck is going on Ni?” Zayn whispered hoarsely, staring in disbelief at the tiny human encased in Harry’s embrace. 

The blonde boy's mouth opened and closed unhelpfully several times, eyes locked on his daughter.

“Niall?” Liam’s voice was dripping with concern and was that…. _hurt?_ The Irish boy swallowed hard, searching out those deep brown eyes. “What’s going on?”

The attention of the whole room was anchored to him, even Athena, strangely quiet in the comfort of Harry’s arms.

“I have a kid.”

And he was pretty sure; he had never seen so much disappointment in any of their eyes.

=================================================

Niall stood in the pharmacy gazing at the various supplements, vitamins and boosters. Louis stood by his side, looking slightly more confident but no less confused. Athena was clung tightly in Louis' arms, babbling happily.

They were due at the doctor in no less than 5 minutes but they felt they should at least see the range and question their necessity during the appointment.

Louis had gone into complete sensible big brother mode the moment the news was spilled. The second Harry and Niall had closed their mouths Louis had pulled out his phone and began making arrangements.

 

He called a paediatrician "They can probably find her medical records and give you important information. She probably needs some shots, a check-up and some vitamins."

He then called the baby store in the city and asked that they close for the afternoon so that they could pick up some things uninterrupted.

Finally he called their management to schedule a meeting for the following week.

Once he hung up for the final time, Louis motioned for Niall to hand him Athena, smiling when he hesitated.

"I won't hurt her mate, I just want to get acquainted plus I can smell her dirty diaper from all the way over here. Let me fix her up." Niall studied Louis for a few lingering moments before slowly extending his arms and handing Louis his daughter. The older band mate had immediately pulled a funny face to the toddler who melted into his arms. Niall sighed in relief as the two exited the room but tensed once again as he lifted his head to meet the other boys’ gazes.

“Ni?” Niall’s head snapped up at the sound of his eldest band mate who was shaking a bright purple canister in his face. “What do you think?”

“I’m sorry, what?” The brunette sighed and returned the bottle to the pharmacy’s shelf.

“I know this is a lot to take in mate, but this is your daughter and right now, you need to put all of this morning’s shit behind you and focus. This is her health we’re talking about.”

The blonde boy shook his head, as if trying to dislodge all thoughts of this morning from his head before reaching out and pulling Athena from Louis’ grasp.

“Right, yeah. Do we need to leave now?” Louis sighed but nodded, patting Niall sympathetically on the shoulder.

“We’re all here for you mate.”

Niall wasn’t crying again….he just had something in his eye.

======================================================

“Unfortunately Mr Horan, the news is not all pleasant.” The doctor’s expression was grim as he glanced at the small girl playing with brightly coloured plastic blocks in the corner of his office. “She does have a few….complications.”

“Is she going to die?” Niall’s eyes were wide, pleading with the doctor to reassure him. He could hear Louis take a shuddering breath from beside him before he felt long, slender fingers wrap around his hand.

The balding doctor smiled sadly and shook his head.

“She is most certainly not going to die Mr Horan but she will require some extra attention.” The man glanced back at the child again before locking eyes with the worried teen father “She is missing part of her pancreas and a kidney; this has resulted in type one diabetes and a high risk of kidney failure.”

Niall’s eyes watered once again as he gripped his band mate’s hand tighter.

“B-but she- she’ll be okay. Won’t she?” Niall could feel the sobs building in his chest but refused to let them sound.

“She is also very low on iron and other major vitamins, she is quite severely malnourished Mr Horan.” Niall let a stray sob burst from his throat, causing Athena to glance worriedly up at her father “But, she’ll live and in time, with a lot of care and attention she should be back up to speed with the rest of her age group.” The doctor patted Niall’s knee comfortingly.

“Thankyou Dr Ryan.” Louis whispered, apparently the only one in control of his emotions.

“I’ll go have the nurse draw up a treatment plan.” As soon as the door closed behind the ageing man Niall burst into tears, fat droplets of water sliding down his cheeks.

“Come on Ni, please don’t do this now. She’s okay, she’s going to be fine. Come on buddy you need to be strong for her.” The older boy whispered soothingly. “Niall, take a deep breath and calm down, you’ll scare her. We can have our breakdown later.”

Niall looked up to meet Louis’ watery gaze and knew he was right. The blonde tried his hardest to draw in a deep breath and glanced at his daughter who was staring worriedly back at him.

“She’s going to be fine.” Louis stated firmly.

“She’s going to be fine.” Niall repeated half-heartedly.

“I fine!” Both boys smiled sadly at the utter conviction in the toddler’s voice.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let me know what you're loving and what you're not :) Do you guys like this?
> 
> This is also up on my tumblr :) I have decided to start taking prompts of any pairing and fandom so head on over to rightingitdown.tumblr.com and request away!!!!! 
> 
> <3


	5. Chapter 5

Niall jolted awake, panting heavily as the looming shapes in the dark morphed into the familiar surroundings of his bedroom as he tried to figure out what had woken him. Taking a deep breath, the blonde boy let his eyes slip closed again before a shrill cry had them snapping back open.

“Da-ddy!” The long stuttering wail was coming from living room where Louis had set up a portable crib. “Da!”

Niall scrambled out of the tangling confines of his bed sheets and jogged down the long hallway to the pitch black living room.

“I’m coming Theen! Just wait.” He cooed quietly as he searched for the light switch. The sobbing doubled in volume as the child realised her father was in close proximity _. Where the fuck was the light switch!_

Niall’s hand finally ran over the elusive switch and he flooded the room with light. He turned to find Athena-Grace standing in her portable crib, holding tightly to the side as she gasped for breath, sobbing harshly. When she caught site of her father, her bright blue eyes widened and she reached out to him, the movement making her fall to her backside. As a fresh wave of screams filled the small apartment, Niall finally came to his senses and rushed towards his daughter, holding her firmly to his chest.

“Daddy’s got you Baby,” He soothed quietly, “What’s the matter sweet girl? Why are you so upset?” He ran his hand softly up and down her back as he bounced gently side to side. The girl’s sobs were quieting down to hiccups but her tears hadn’t stopped.

Niall bit his lip helplessly. What could have upset her in the dead of night?

Was she warm enough? Yes, her body was comfortably warm against his bare chest.

Was she hungry? Maybe, Niall would cry if he was hungry and couldn’t get to food.

Was her nappy dirty? Niall patted her bum slightly, feeling it warmer than it should be.

“Oh baby, are you dirty? Is that the problem?” The small girl in Niall’s arms gurgled an agreement and seemed to calm even more as she was carried towards the bathroom. “Don’t worry; we’ll be fixed up in no time.”

As Niall laid his daughter down on the brightly coloured changing mat on the bathroom floor, there was a knock on the front door. Niall kept rummaging about in the bathroom cupboard for nappies, knowing that if it was one of the boys they would let themselves in. Sure enough the sound of the door opening and footsteps soon filled the apartment as the visitor searched out the teenaged resident and his daughter.

Athena let out an unhappy coo as her father began to unbutton her onesie. Niall hushed her quietly as he finally looked up to the door, fumbling with the nappy as he saw Liam in the doorway. The older boy’s eyes were trained on the pair on the floor, a small, apologetic smile on his lips.

“Hey,” Niall blinked stupidly at his band mate whose smile was beginning to disappear “I-I heard her crying….I just” Liam heaved a deep sigh “wanted to come round and apologise, can we talk?”

Niall bit his lip and nodded, reaching for his daughters wipes.

“Just let me finish here okay?”

Ten minutes later found the two boys in the living room, Niall cradling Athena gently while holding a warm bottle to her lips, Liam watching on quietly. The older of the two sat fiddling with his ring, trying to figure out how to begin the conversation while Niall focused solely on feeding his baby, pretending to be at ease.

The clock hanging above the doorway ticked obnoxiously as both boys waited for the other to begin.

Finally Liam could no longer take the silence.

“How are you coping?”

Niall scoffed slightly but otherwise remained silent, keeping his eyes trained on Athena.

“Look Ni-“ Liam huffed as Athena continued to struggle and wriggle in Niall’s arms and stood up, crossing the room to where Niall sat in an arm chair cradling Athena at an awkward angle “She’s going to get reflux if you keep holding her like that, she’s taking in too much air.”

Niall looked up with a confused glare.

“Sit her up for a minute so she can let the air out.” Niall clenched his jaw but did as Liam suggested, sure enough the baby let out an impressive burp. Niall’s lips twitched in a small grin before he looked back at Liam waiting for him to tell him what to do next.

“Lay her back but make sure she is slightly tilted so that she isn’t lying flat. Put one of her ears against your chest, your heartbeat will calm her.” Niall followed Liam’s instructions and watched in amazement as Athena began sucking on the bottle again, eyes fluttering shut.

After Niall had finished feeding his daughter and had placed her back in her crib _‘On her back Ni,'_ he led Liam down the hall to his room where they could talk without disturbing the baby.

Niall immediately climbed back into his bed making himself comfortable as Liam stood awkwardly in the doorway, watching the younger boy.

“If you’re going to insist we talk can you at least sit down to make it less weird,” Niall huffed as he flicked on his bedside lamp. Liam came to perch on the edge of Niall’s bed, clasping his hands on his knees. “What are you here for Liam?”

“I-“The older boy took a deep breath before turning to look at Niall directly “I need to apologise for the way I acted this morning, I shouldn’t have stormed out on you or said the things I did.”

“You called me an irresponsible slut Liam.” The blonde deadpanned “You stormed out me, _us._ I needed you and you ran away.”

“I shouldn’t have done it, I _know_ I shouldn’t have but I did. I just,” there was the sigh again “I just didn’t know what to say, it was just a shock.”

Niall simply stared at Liam. If that was the only explanation on offer, there would be no more to the conversation.

“ _Ni please,”_ Liam moved up the bed, as close as he could to Niall and reached for his hand. “I am so sorry, I love you and I love the boys and it kills me to know that because of a split second decision you are all angry with me.”

Niall’s shoulders slumped in defeat.

“Forgive me.”

“ ‘m tired and Athena will want ta be fed soon.” Liam nodded sadly and got up to leave, only to be stopped by a hand around his wrist. “Stay?”

∞   ~   ∞   ~   ∞   ~   ∞   ~   ∞   ~   ∞

As Niall slowly woke up, he became aware of a few things. One, there was a loud clanging of pots and pans coming from the kitchen, two, there was a warm body spooned against his back and three it was daylight.

After turning to confirm that the body in his bed, was in fact Liam, the blonde decided to go investigate who it was that decided to break into his apartment and threaten waking his baby.

Once Niall entered the living room his eyes zeroed in on the empty portable crib against the wall. His heart rate immediately increased. It wasn’t one of the boys in the house, someone had broken in and taken his daughter. She was probably scared and cold and _oh god_ what if she was –

“Morning Ni!” Niall nearly fainted at the cheerful familiar chirp of Harry’s voice. “Are you okay mate?”

“Ya gave ma fuckin heart attack!” The blonde barked out, only to dissolve into laughter once giving Harry a once over “What the hell are you doing?”

“Theena and I are making breakfast!” The younger boy held out the flour covered baby as proof, shaking yet more flour out of his own hair. “I think she shit her pants”

Niall’s retort died in his throat as his work phone began to make its presence known. _Modest management calling._ Flashed damningly across the screen.

Fucking hell, it was going to be a long day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Feel free to leave suggestions for the story :)

**Author's Note:**

> Check out my tumblr and prompt away for any fandom! (rightingitdown.tumlr.com)


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